NAMM 2017: Martin Debuts New “Aged” Custom Guitar Process!
NAMM2017 C.F. Martin & Co. (Martin Guitar) continues to draw inspiration from their historic legacy with their newest innovative technology process, AGED, which will be unveiled with a new custom shop guitar series at Winter NAMM 2017 in Anaheim, CA from January 19-21, 2017. The new process “ages” a new guitar to replicate the appearance of a classic Martin vintage model.
Guitar aficionados and collectors worldwide covet the vintage Martin guitars of the “golden era” of the 1930’s, and Martin’s new AGED series feature a limited run of 50 1937 D-28 Authentics based on the visual hallmarks of a vintage Martin guitar, each one hand-aged with several new touches such as the thinner lacquer finish, Vintage Tone System (VTS), spruce Adirondack tops and unique AGED tuning machines.
“There are not many vintage Martins from the 30’s in the market, and if you do find one, their price point can be as high as $75,000-80,000, and there has been a demand for a series like this from our customers,” says Fred Greene, Martin Guitar’s VP Domestic Manufacturing. “1937 is widely considered the nirvana of old Martins and once we had all the details, we wanted to create a process that would revitalize the classic look and feel of those iconic models. These new “aged” models will be broken in – it’s akin to a great pair of old jeans or shoes that instantly fit right.”
Building on the success of Martin’s Authentic series, which utilizes the time honored construction techniques of pre-war Martin guitars, Martin’s Custom Shop team now replicates the look and feel of a well-loved vintage instrument.
“One of the reasons that the “aging” process is more difficult to do with acoustic guitars then electric is that electric guitars are made from a solid piece so you don’t worry about it falling apart structurally,” says Jeff Allen, GM Custom Shop at Martin Guitar. “With acoustic guitars, you have to age the outside and inside – it has to look right on all sides and the aging process can be way more aggressive -it’s a far more delicate process for acoustics.”
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